LAHORE, APR 21 – Pakistan’s T20I skipper Babar Azam has admitted that he is finding life difficult without cricket.
Cricketing activities in the country were suspended after an overseas player showed symptoms of coronavirus during the middle of fifth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
“I had a set routine and I was all into it with daily practice, hitting the gym, fielding, training and fitness, and now there’s so much uncertainty,” Babar said while speaking with ESPNcricinfo. “Everything is shut down, you are missing your routines, but you can’t do anything about it. As a batsman, you don’t have that satisfaction until you have a bat in your hand and you are middling the ball. So I am just staying positive, getting the pleasure of batting tennis-ball cricket with my brothers in the garage.”
He said that he has been working on his training while staying indoors. “Gym training is helping me stay fit, that’s something I can do from home but if the break goes on, it can make me rusty, but I can’t forget the basics. You must believe in yourself, the hard work I had put in to become a good batsman. You have to have confidence in yourself.”
The right-handed batsman went on to say that he reflected on his performance and improve on his mistakes by watching videos of his previous games.
He added that he had to focus on his complacent mindset. “I used to become complacent easily if I performed well. I used to have a negative thought process and that’s the area I realised I had to cover. Apart from playing and training, there are elements outside the game as well that need to be addressed, you need to control them to have a better grip on the game. The more I am in control, the better I can drive my innings. Now, a good performance doesn’t make me happy, instead I push myself to go further and try to expand my game.”
